The Price of Freedom
by Laodicean
Summary: Pokemon have always been subservient to humans. An underground group seeks to do something about this, but their efforts have unforeseen consequences. Accepting plot and character ideas. T for safety. R&R, please!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer (because no one likes to get sued or harassed over ownership issues): Laodicean does not own the rights to pokemon and has merely written this story for his own amusement. The cast of characters not recognized in the official pokemon series, however, are his and may be used by others with the permission of the author (to be more accurate, go ahead and use my characters though I would appreciate being told and given credit).

*0O0*

Perhaps it had not always been this way. Legends told of a time when pokemon and humans were equal. But somehow, there was an alteration of hierarchy, and mankind became the dominant species on the planet. Pokemon, though many were of equal intelligence as humans (some more so), found themselves subservient. It seemed strange that Arceus would subject his fellow pokemon to this curse, but, for whatever reason, as if an antithesis to evolution, the race without anything going for it, no special attributes or abilities, found itself out on top.

And thus we have the world that we do: Humans going around, capturing the other species, taking them from their homes, and forcing them to battle against each other (though in this last case the pokemon began to enjoy fighting, almost as if they had surrendered to their fate). However, this tale isn't all grim. Many humans were compassionate and treated their captives well. And though they had been taken from their lives and families, some pokemon were able to thrive in this new situation. But still, not everyone was satisfied with how things turned out. Some pokemon, like Mewtwo, attempted to rebel. And, more importantly to the story I am about to present to you, there was a small group of humans who took pity on the less fortunate species in this lottery of life, and made it their goal to find a way to make things better.

After years of research and brainstorming, they finally came up with a solution they were able to agree upon. By this time there had been a few artificial pokemon created, such as the porygon family and castform, so they knew it was possible. All they had to do was engineer a pokemon species that fit the needs and wants of humans. The idea was that if they could make a "fake" pokemon that could take on the role that the current pokemon were forced to endure, there would be a better chance of equality in the future. And while this left their creation out in the cold as it were, they were not concerned. Anything created by man was inherently inferior to man, right? That's what they told themselves.

But there was still a problem. This group did not want to go to the trouble of recreating every pokemon species that existed (there were after all, a lot). The most obvious solution was to make a pokemon that could become any other pokemon, saving them the trouble. They knew ditto would not be sufficient, for numerous reasons, so they set out to create an enhanced version of ditto that they would later name "Doppel". We begin our story with the "birth" of the doppel prototype. As you will soon find out, things did not go according to plan.

*0O0*

Charles Delevier was a genius. He was the head of the science division of the underground organization known as "Zephyr" and held the most critical role in the Doppel Project. And now that the first doppel was nearly ready to be brought into the world, his job became really easy. All Charles had to do was to perform the routine check-up on his creation to make sure it was healthy. Then, when it was completely stabilized he could remove it from the artificial womb he had designed for it.

As he was nearing his lab, he heard a noise. This could mean one of two things: Either the doppel had found a way out of the womb, or there was an intruder. Not taking any chances, the doctor pulled out a regulation stun gun (all Zephyr operatives carried them in case there was an emergency) and put his back to the door. After taking in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself he turned around, threw open the door and pointed his gun, ready to shoot-

"Hey, Mr. Delevier! How's it goin'?" –the Boss' ten year old son. Charles groaned and put his gun away. "Kio", he said, "why are you in my lab?" Kio grinned, and the doctor had to wonder if this child was ever unhappy. He had never seen him frown; Not even once. "I just wanted to meet my new friend, Mr. Delevier. She's kind of cute!" Charles pinched the bridge of his nose.

"First of all, it's Dr. Delevier, not Mr. Delevier. Secondly, the doppel species is genderless. It's an "it" not a "she". Finally, if your dad finds you in here, he'll have my head. So please remove yourself from the premises."

"Technically, won't the doppel be able to transform into either male or female?"

"JUST GET OUT!"

And with that, Kio bolted out the door, laughing the whole way. Charles sighed and looked around for a chair to sit down in. Then he heard another noise. A machine was emitting a soft beeping sound that gradually got louder as time passed. This time, though, he knew what it meant. He raced over to the artificial womb, a small tank with a port hole sized window on it, resting in the corner. Next to it was a large monitor that displayed the medical statistics of his creation. A single word flashed onto the middle of the screen: Ready!

"YES! I've done it! It's finally stable enough to be let out!" Dr. Delevier pushed a button on the tank and it hummed a little before a small door opened in the bottom front of it. Out rushed a gallon of water, which Charles knew he would have to clean up later, but of more importance was the pinkish blob that came with it. Slowly, the blob began to shape itself into the recognizable form of a little girl, who blinked and looked up at Charles with wide eyes. The genius now knew why Kio had referred to the doppel as 'she', but that was a minor detail right now (as was the question as to why his creation chose this form).

Some other Scientists came running into the room, clipboards in hand, and furiously scribbling away on them. The testing stage would begin soon. After all, they needed to find out the extent of this new pokemon's abilities before releasing it to the public.


	2. Chapter 2

#One Week Later#

It definitely had not been easy for the doppel. It had been run ragged by the scientists over the course of its first week of life. They wanted to know what it could do and thus put it through all sorts of tests. So far what they had learned (and consequently, what the doppel learned about itself) was that in its base form it looked like a slightly oversized ditto, which is sort of what it was. However, much to the scientists' satisfaction there were some key differences. Unlike a ditto, Doppel was unable to transform without a DNA sample of the subject it wanted to copy the form of. So, instead of the "transform" move that your standard ditto carried, Doppel had been programmed with a move the scientists had invented, which they called "assimilate". While at first glance, the move appeared inferior to transform, it did have its own benefits. With this method, doppel could become a given thing from memory instead of always having to see the thing to copy its form.

To perform the move, Doppel would engulf the target in its blobby mass and scan the DNA signature before letting it go free. In the scientists' eyes, this was perfect because now trainers could travel the world with a doppel, find the pokemon they wanted, and have the doppel assimilate it. They reasoned this was a better alternative to capturing and kidnapping the poor pokemon. It would simulate the trainer experience without actually ruining lives. Everyone would be happy.

'Everyone except me.' the doppel thought to itself. The scientists had not taken into account what Doppel wanted, of course. They were too busy with the concerns of the other pokemon out there. And even though Doppel didn't know what it wanted, it knew this fate wasn't it. To be a pawn of these humans for the rest of its life did not seem like a good thing. To become a slave so that others could be free sounded noble, but Doppel figured it would probably be a miserable experience.

Light poured into the room that the doppel was occupying as the door opened and one of the humans appeared. "Dinner time!" said the human as it put a plate covered in what could best be described as slop onto the floor. 'Now's my chance!' Doppel raced for the door, barreling over the human in the process, and found itself in a barren hallway. While it wasn't sure which way to go, the doppel figured that now was not the time to hesitate and decided to go left. It quickly transformed into a nine-year-old-looking human girl with waist length purple hair and green eyes, a form that no one, not even Doppel, knew the source of.

Doppel had never assimilated a human in its brief existence, and could only speculate how it could become this form and even how it knew it could become this form. But that wasn't a top priority at the moment. Right now it needed to escape and could move faster as a human than it could in its normal ditto-like form. "Stop right there!" came a voice as it finished morphing. Doppel looked back and saw several humans, most likely scientists, behind it (or her, considering the current form). She would have to pick up the pace.

Fortunately the scientists were badly out of shape and could not keep up. As the distance between them increased she heard one of them shout "Call in Halitosis! We can't get it back like this." Then she rounded a corner and could not tell if they were still following. She didn't want to take any chances and kept moving, feeling a bit tired from the pursuit, but not allowing herself a break. Finally the hallway came to an end and she could see another door. Hopefully this would lead to freedom. She opened the door and ran through it.

Doppel had not, however, counted on the figure on the other side of the door. She only realized it was there after she ran into it and found herself sprawled on the ground. It was a human in a dark brown jumpsuit with beady eyes and dirty, messy, brown hair. He wore a gas mask over his mouth, which he removed as he picked Doppel up by the scruff of her neck. The man grinned, revealing sickly, sharp teeth as he breathed on her. The breath was rancid and Doppel felt like she wanted to throw up. Quickly she found herself becoming disoriented as the man continued to breathe on her. The last thing she saw as she lapsed into unconsciousness was the man laughing evilly as he put the mask back on and began walking back the way she came, carrying her with him.

*0O0*

Doppel awoke with a gasp and noticed first of all that she was still in her human form. Second of all, she was back in the room she had just escaped from earlier. 'Wonderful.' Before she had time to curse her bad luck though, the door opened for the second time that day, but she did not have the strength for another escape attempt. In walked a ten-year-old boy with shoulder length light blue hair and aquamarine colored eyes. He was wearing red pajamas covered all over in what looked like the letter "Z" (which was a very weird thing for humans to wear during the day, but Doppel didn't know this yet).

"There you are!" he said. "I've been looking all over for my new friend. So this is where they're keeping y- OH MY! You're naked!" Quickly he turned his head, shielding his eyes with one hand and with the other reached behind him into a backpack she hadn't noticed he was wearing. This series of events confused Doppel. Testing out her voice, she let him know what was on her mind. "Ok, who are you? What are you doing here? You're not going to run any tests on me are you? And what does 'naked' mean?" The boy didn't miss a beat as he finished pulling out a set of clothes from the backpack.

"Hi, my name is Kio, I came here to say 'hello', no I'm not going to run any tests, and 'naked' means you aren't wearing any clothes. Most humans do not like to be seen without clothes. Luckily, I have some on hand you can wear that I was going to take on my journey." He said while grinning from ear to ear. Doppel gave Kio a cautious look as she tried on the clothes. They did not quite fit her, but that was ok as he had also produced a belt that she could use to keep her pants up. Now that she was dressed in a blue t-shirt and some black shorts, Kio let his hand drop and looked her over. "Not bad, though we'll have to go shopping later. If you want to travel with me, that is."

The doppel stared at Kio for a good minute and a half, mouth agape, before finally managing to get out "What gall, you have! Expecting me to be your slave!"

Kio seemed slightly surprised by this outburst, but recovered quickly. "I never said anything about slavery, I just want to travel the world with my soon-to-be good friend… I'm sorry what's your name?"

"I don't have one. You could call be Doppel, I suppose. But-"

"Oh, that won't do for a name. That's your species name. I don't know about you but I would hate to be referred to as 'Human' or 'Person' or even 'Homo-Sapiens'. No, let's pick a new name for you."

Before the doppel could interject, Kio snapped his fingers and said "I know! You remind me of an old friend of mine. Your new name is Shiori! What do you think?"

"Fine, whatever. But you don't seem to get the idea that I don't want to travel with you. I don't even know if I can trust you. The human track record for that so far has been utterly abysmal."

"Of course you can't trust me, yet. I'm going to earn your trust! But wouldn't it be nice to get out of here? That's what you were attempting to do earlier, right?"

'So he heard about that, huh? Lovely. He knows what I want, so now he can bribe me. And it's working so far…' "Tell me the details of this journey."

"Well, I'm ten years old, so it's about time for me to go traveling the world. As my dad is one of the head honchos of this place, I convinced him that you should come with me as a test run to fully understand what you can do. Officially, I'm going to use you to try out the neo-trainer idea these people here are pushing." After saying this Kio got closer than Shiori was comfortable with and whispered the rest in her ear. "Unofficially, I figure we can travel the world, do what we want, and if in the middle of it, you feel like ditching me…" He left it at that.

"One more question, Kio. Why are you doing this?"

"I don't feel like discussing that here." He said in an affable tone of voice while revealing his pearly whites in a broad smile. Shiori grimaced. 'Ooooooookay. Well, freakshow aside, this does appear to be my best opportunity to get out of here.' "Fine, I'll go with you, but try anything funny and I'll murder you in your sleep!"

Kio chuckled. "Noted."


	3. Chapter 3

"You can take the blindfold off now, Shiori." The first thing Shiori saw as she removed the hated piece of cloth that had temporarily robbed her of sight (for the sake of keeping the location of the Zephyr base a secret) was a tree. Then she looked around and saw another tree. In fact there seemed to be tons of them. They were all over the place. "This is what we call a forest." said Kio matter-of-factly. "All kinds of pokemon live in the area. Perhaps we'll get to meet some in the near future. But right now we should head to town to get you those clothes, unless of course you'd rather just assume the form of a pokemon. Have you assimilated any pokemon yet?"

"Just a machop and a sandshrew. But from what I know about the outside world, if I were to assume the role of a pokemon, you would just put me in a pokeball. So, I think I'll stay human." Kio shrugged. "Suit yourself. Shopping it is then. By the way, now that you can see and all…" He paused. Finally Shiori rose to the bait. "Where are you going with this?" Kio grinned mischievously. "I just wanted to know how much longer you wanted to hold my hand." Shiori looked down and noticed that they were indeed holding hands. And while this was perfectly innocent when he was leading her around blindfolded, now she found it rather awkward. She quickly let go and put some distance between them.

"You'd better watch yourself. I don't like being messed with, Kio." "Oh dear, and here I thought you were enjoying yourself." Kio teased. Shiori's eye twitched. "Shut up and I might spare you, vile human!" "Temper, temper." He said in a sing-song voice while wagging his finger. "You don't fully understand the situation you're in." That put Shiori on guard. Had she been tricked? What was he scheming? Then Kio burst out laughing. "Just kidding! Actually, I really don't care what you do." Shiori fumed. "What did I just say! I told you to shut up. I'm dangerous. Do you not get that? I'm a pokemon, and that means I could kill you. Or do you have a death wish?" Kio grinned, but something was weird about it. "Funny you should ask…"

Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes and Kio turned his head to look in that direction. Shiori also glanced that way, putting all thoughts about the discussion to the side. Maybe it was something harmless, like a caterpie, she hoped. Unfortunately, what jumped out at them was not a caterpie, though to Shiori's credit it was of the same pokemon type. It was a beedrill. And, just to make things worse, three more appeared behind it. Shiori sweat-dropped. "Um, what should we do now?" Instead of answering in words, Kio grabbed her by the arm and ran, pulling her with him. The beedrills raised their stingers and took off after them. But, as if out of nowhere, a purple ball flew out from the foliage and burst into a cloud of poisonous smoke.

Acting quickly, Kio ducked and rolled, covering his mouth with his free hand, not taking into account that Shiori did not expect this from him and in the next instant, she found her face planted onto the ground. As she attempted to pick herself up, a beedrill collided headfirst with the back of her skull in an attempt to escape the smoke cloud, and while it was successful in doing so, it had the unfortunate side effect of knocking both Shiori and itself out cold. The other beedrills flew off, deciding it wasn't worth the effort anymore. As Kio got up, he noticed another figure coming out from behind the trees. It was human shaped, but dressed in so much clothing that it was hard to determine its features. Even its face was covered by a giant scarf wrapped around its head. It pulled out a pokeball and threw it at the beedrill, capturing it. After doing so, the figure nodded at Kio and began to walk off. Kio picked up Shiori bridal style and followed.

*0O0*

Shiori awoke, finding herself lying on a pile of leaves. The various scrapes she had gotten from her encounter with the ground were gone and she wondered if she had dreamed the beedrill incident. That was when she looked over and noticed she was in a cave and there was a beedrill guarding the entrance. It couldn't be a coincidence. "Ah, you're awake." Came Kio's voice from deeper in the cave. She sat up slowly and stared in the direction of his voice, barely able to make him out. "Where are we? What happened?" "You ate dirt, is what happened. Luckily, someone came and chased the beedrill off. Here they are now." The person from before appeared at the cave entrance, pulling out a pokeball and pushing a button on it, causing the beedrill to disappear in a flash of red light.

"Who are you?" asked Shiori. "Enza…" The person rasped, before turning around and walking back out of the cave. Kio got up and followed him and Shiori noticed the upbeat kid was holding an empty potion bottle. That explained what happened to her injuries, but why did he heal her? Perhaps this human was different from the scientists, but she wasn't willing to come to that conclusion yet. "Coming, Shiori?" Kio asked. "Oh, yeah, wait for me." She said as she got up and followed them.

It turned out that the cave they had been in was close to their destination, Pewter City. Shiori marveled at the buildings around her. 'So, this is where humans live.' One place in particular caught her interest, and it just so happened to be the place the group was heading towards. There was a big window in the front of the building and Shiori could see plastic, human shaped figures dressed in a variety of clothes, just beyond the glass. "Is this the clothing store you spoke of?" she asked and Kio nodded to her.

"Pick out whatever you want. It's on me. Luckily, nothing at this place is overly expensive, so price shouldn't be a problem."The three walked into the building and did some shopping. Fortunately for Kio and Enza, Shiori didn't take too long in finding what she wanted. She now wore a green t-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. On her feet was a pair of sandals. Kio paid the cashier, and they left to tour the town some more. When it got late, they adjourned to the local pokemon center, where they ran into yet another dilemma.

"Three rooms, please!" said Kio. The nurse scanned the three figures quickly before saying. "Right away! Are the three of you trainers?" "Enza and I are. Shiori, is not." Kio and Enza pulled out their trainer's licenses. Nurse Joy looked them over and handed them back. "Everything appears to be in order; however I can only offer free rooms to trainers. For your lady friend to get her own room, she would have to pay me 500 poke'." In retrospect Shiori took the news rather well. She had only tried to throttle the poor nurse, after all. It took the combined effort of Kio and Enza to make sure that didn't happen. Finally, Shiori decided on a different tactic. She yelled.

"YOU EXPECT ME TO STAY IN A ROOM WITH ONE OF THEM FOR AN ENTIRE NIGHT! WHAT KIND OF SAD EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN ARE YOU?"

Nurse Joy was a bit unnerved by this display but she held her ground." I'm sorry, Miss. It's a new policy that I can't break if I don't want to lose my job. You could always camp outside." "So let me get this straight," Kio interjected. "You would leave this poor girl in the hands of some boy, who could very well take advantage of her in her sleep or make her stay outside where any number of other things could happen. You do realize that you would be the one held responsible, right?" "Yes, it would seem we are at an impasse." said Joy. "I really don't know what to do in this circumstance, unless of course you have the money on you."

Shiori looked pleadingly at Kio, who fished out his wallet and looked through it. "It appears I have enough, however that means we would be skipping breakfast tomorrow. I have an idea, though. If you rent me a room, does it mean I have to stay in it?" "Well, no…" "Excellent. Shiori will be staying in my room and I'll just camp outside." The nurse sighed. "This is most unorthodox, but under the circumstances, I'll allow it." Kio smiled triumphantly. "Have a goodnight everyone. I'll be outside if you need me." And with that he turned and headed out the door, leaving the other two to find their rooms.

That night Shiori lay in her bed, thinking about the day's events. What a strange person this Kio was. But, if he felt like inconveniencing himself, that was his problem. At least that's what she tried to convince herself. However, it still bothered her. Surely, she would have a better chance of surviving outside all alone then he would. But then that would risk blowing her cover. The world didn't know about the doppel species yet and who knows what would happen should it find out. Was Kio protecting her? This turn of events was threatening her nice, comfortable view that all humans were jerks.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Thank you to the one person who reviewed this story. I appreciate the feedback. Also, I apologize that this chapter is a little short. I was not feeling very creative today. Perhaps the next chapter will be longer.

Outside of the pokemon center, Kio sat against a tree with his eyes closed. He had discovered, as was consistent with his lack of preparation skills, that he had forgot to pack a tent. Or a sleeping bag. Or indeed any camping gear whatsoever. This was indeed a bad sign, if he wanted to travel. And most trainers had a tendency to travel. He grinned to himself. What a silly situation he was in. He briefly wondered what tomorrow would look like before deciding he'd worry about that, well, tomorrow. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that he wasn't alone.

"The boy who wears his plastic smile,

Secretly thinking all the while

'I can't afford to let them see

What's hidden deep inside of me.'"

Kio was caught off guard, but hid it well. "That's an interesting bit of poetry. Who's it about?" A small figure dropped out of the tree that Kio was under and landed next to him. Kio could tell, despite the darkness that it was a nuzleaf. The nuzleaf spoke again. "Don't play the fool, Kio. It doesn't suit you."

"Hello, Yuhn. It's been awhile since we last met. When did you learn English?"

"That's actually an interesting story. I'm not speaking your language at all. My kadabra friend is nearby, translating everything I say. I was bored one day and figured it would be a useful trick for her to learn. Realizing that psychics can mess with people's minds, I taught her to do just that. Your ear is taking in my native poke tongue, but your brain thinks I'm speaking like a human. I'm rather surprised no one has thought of it before."

Kio blinked before smirking. "You've always had too much time on your hands, Yuhn." The Nuzleaf rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, let's get to the point. I can't stay for long, because my trainer doesn't exactly know I'm gone." "You were caught?" "Hn, some trainer got lucky and caught me while I was napping. Fortunately, his other pokemon are cooperative with my whims and one even lets me out of my ball whenever I want. The kadabra hiding nearby is another one of his pokemon. But as for the reason I'm here, are you sure you want to go through with what you're doing? You really aren't being fair to the doppel."

"Someone's done their homework. Are you sure you aren't here to feed on my emotions again?" Another interesting thing Yuhn had discovered was that dark type pokemon had the ability to strengthen themselves by absorbing negative emotions from others. Of course he decided to use this to his advantage, which was actually the reason these two were acquainted in the first place. But Yuhn shook his head. "No, I'm here because the doppel intrigues me. The fact that you're traveling with her is an added bonus. I also happen to know where she got her human form from. Which brings me back to the point: This whole scenario isn't fair. She's going to end up getting hurt because you can't cope with what happened a year ago."

"Meh. The past is the past. No point in dwelling in it."

"You clearly don't believe that. Sure you hide behind that cheerful emotion you force on yourself, but in the end, we both know it's fake. Just because some chemicals in your brain say you're happy does not mean you are actually happy. Why haven't you learned that yet?"

"What's it to you?" asked Kio, and for a moment he lost his ever present smile. But it was back just as quickly as it left. "Are you jealous of my mad psychotical powers, yo?" The nuzleaf whacked Kio over the head. "What was that for?" "One, that didn't make any sense. Two, never say that again. Ever. You sound like a moron." "What about three?" "What makes you think there's a three?" "There's always a three." Yuhn sighed. "Fine. Three, get over yourself. I mean, really, get over yourself. So, you lost the girl you loved. It happens. People die all the time. Your behavior is just plain pathetic. And besides, what does someone your age know about love, anyways? Your life is incredibly unoriginal to the point that it bores me."

"What doesn't bore you?"

"Touché. But my point still stands."

Kio got up. "Perhaps you're right. What do I do now?"

"Well, for now, just go to bed. Staying up too late will make everything worse. Or you could stay up. I really don't care. But either way, I have to go. I've already stayed longer than I should have. Rest assured, though. You haven't seen the last of me." And with that the nuzleaf vanished in a flash of light. Apparently his kadabra friend knew how to teleport. Kio sighed. That nuzleaf was going to be a thorn in his side. Going against his better judgment, he decided to go for a walk. Perhaps that would clear his mind. Besides, sleep was overrated.

*0O0*

The next morning, Shiori and Enza met down in the waiting area of the pokemon center. Both wondered where their traveling companion was, but they figured he simply hadn't woke up yet. After failing miserably at small talk, the two sat in silence for about an hour before Shiori lost her patience.

"Where is he? I've heard of some humans not being "morning people" as they put it, but he is taking way too long. Enza, go find out what he's doing." Enza didn't budge. Perhaps he didn't like being ordered around. Or maybe he was ignoring her. Whatever the case, Shiori decided it would be faster for her to go. So, she got up and left the pokemon center. She expected to find Yuhn sawing logs or doing some inane activity just to tick her off, but he wasn't there. In fact she couldn't find any sign that he had ever been there. Maybe he had been kidnapped. Part of her told her to just leave. Who cared what happened to that guy? This was her best opportunity to get away and start her own life, free of pesky humans.

However, if he had been kidnapped, then she was partly to blame. Hadn't he chosen to sleep outside in her stead? The room she was in last night was rented out to him. Had he inadvertently saved her from some terrible fate? It seemed she was developing a conscience and she knew it would bug her if she didn't do anything about it. But where to look? Finally, Shiori headed off in the direction of the forest, figuring, if she didn't find him there, she could always just make a break for it. So, forgetting that she had left Enza back in the pokemon center, she headed off.


	5. Chapter 5

"Kio! Kio, where are you? Olly olly oxen free!" As it turned out, there were two snags in Shiori's plan. One was that the forest next to Pewter was, while once upon a time fairly easy to navigate, now very large and deep. This would make both finding Kio and, if that failed, running away, very difficult. While, conceivably, Shiori could just live out the rest of her life in this forest, the thought didn't appeal to her. The second snag was of course that somewhere in this forest (or at least nearby) was the very place she didn't want to return to and the very place that would most likely try to snatch her back into its grasp. Neither of these problems occurred to her as she made her way through another set of trees, looking for that annoying companion of hers.

Perhaps she should have brought Enza with her. He would probably have been able to navigate this area easily. He had after all gotten them to Pewter safely. But it was a bit late for that now. She had no idea where she was. 'I can't believe I got myself into this mess for that idiot!' She thought. 'Conscience, shmonscience. I should have just left him behind.' But she hadn't and there was no use dwelling on the matter any further. So, she continued her search, hoping to find an exit to the blasted forest in the process.

Fortunately, and unfortunately, she found him shortly after. This was fortunate in that it brought the search to an end. It was unfortunate because there were two others with him, and they weren't friendly looking. Standing over Kio's unconscious body, were a drowsy and hypno. They were talking to each other, and being a fellow pokemon, Shiori could make out the words "stupid human", "right into our trap", "a good meal", and "now you can evolve". Were they going to eat Kio? As the drowsy stepped closer to the boy's prone form, Shiori found herself, much to her annoyance, jumping out of the brush, shouting "Don't touch him, you freaks!"

The drowsy hesitated, not knowing what to do now that there was interference. But the hypno merely told the drowsy not to worry and that he would handle the situation. He raised a hand and Shiori quickly found herself colliding with a tree. So, this was the power of a psychic type! But Shiori was nothing if not stubborn. 'No, I fainted twice yesterday because I was not able to protect myself. It will not happen again!' In the next instant she was a machop, which caught the hypno off guard enough for her to land a punch, sending him back a few feet. But then he merely laughed and began walking back over to her.

"I have no idea what you are, but clearly you have no concept of type disadvantage. By choosing that form, you've made things worse for yourself." And with that he raised his hand again and Shiori was rammed into the tree again. It hurt more this time, despite the machop's naturally sturdy form, and she sat on the ground for a second, groaning. In the meantime, the drowsy had stopped to watch the scuffle instead of devouring Kio, or whatever these pokemon had been planning. He chuckled to himself, thinking it was over, but was surprised when he saw the little fighting type get up once more and charge at the hypno again. Hypno merely rolled his eyes and formed a psychic barrier, stopping Shiori in her tracks.

Growing bored with the fight, drowsy turned back to Kio and knelt down proclaiming "Finally, I can eat his dreams! Then I'll be powerful, just like you, Brother!" With that, he put his hands on Kio's body and began to absorb his dream. Kio grunted in pain from having his psyche barraged by the drowsy, and Shiori struggled all the more against the barrier knowing at the same time that there was absolutely nothing she could do to help the boy. She didn't know what the move "dream eater" did, but she was sure that it couldn't be good for Kio's mental state. Maybe he would go insane. And it was all because she was too weak to do anything. While she was still unsure about whether she cared for Kio's wellbeing, it annoyed her how powerless she turned out to be time after time.

The drowsy stopped what it was doing and Shiori thought that meant that he had successfully eaten Kio's dream. But then he collapsed screaming in agony. Slowly Kio got up, and both hypno and Shiori could tell something was very wrong. Sure, he was grinning, but this was no ordinary grin. This was the grin of a maniac.

"Well, what do we have here? It would seem that two little worms thought they could take advantage of Kio's exhaustion. How very amusing. Looks like that one has learned its lesson." He said, glancing at the drowsy, who was still screaming.

The hypno was taken aback by this turn of events, but concern for Drowsy quickly overruled fear. "What have you done to my brother, you monster?"

"Hehehe. Him? He got what he wanted. But you of all pokemon should know that dreams, like food, can go bad. And this one went really bad…for the drowsy, that is! Now, what to do with you…"

Shiori couldn't believe what was happening. Was he actually thinking of taking on the hypno all by himself? Of course, the hypno also realized the absurdity of the situation and quickly stepped forward, completely forgetting about Shiori. "I'll make you pay for causing my brother such pain, human!"

The boy turned his head slightly to the side, making him look even more insane. "What do you care? Brothers are nothing but trouble. Trust me, I know. I'll do you the favor of disposing of him first." The Hypno leapt forward, not knowing what this human was planning, but not wanting to take any chances. Shiori lunged forward as well and grabbed the hypno's leg, making him trip and fall. Quickly she got back up and yelled "KIO, JUST RUN! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" He turned, as if noticing her for the first time.

"Silly Shiori. I'm not Kio. Oh, but you're going to wish I was. I've been waiting for such a long time for this opportunity. The things I'm going to do to you, just to make Kio squirm." He sidestepped the hypno, who had gotten up and lunged at him once more. "But it looks like I'll have to deal with him first. Feel free to run, that will make things much more fun for me and a lot more excruciating for you."

As he said this, Hypno turned and raised his hand and Shiori expected to see "Kio" fly into the tree that she had hit twice already. But nothing happened. Though, in actuality that wasn't quite accurate. "Kio's" eyes glowed and the hypno suddenly found himself levitating. This came as a shock to all parties, except for the drowsy, who was by now completely out of it and "Kio", who was apparently the reason for Hypno's new location. "Oh yeah, I'm a psychic too! And I'm a good deal more powerful than this sad little creature here. Though, I must admit, I'm in a bit of a predicament. Psychic attacks aren't very effective against fellow psychics. So I'll have to settle for something more desperate."

In his hand, there appeared a shadowy aura, which quickly formed into a dark ball of energy. "I picked up this trick from Yuhn. Apparently, you can channel negative emotions into pure darkness, which works well against psychics." Having said that he launched his attack at the helpless psychic pokemon, who upon impact, went limp. The human dropped him and turned toward Shiori. "Your turn!" But then he collapsed. "Curses, I…overdid it. You got lucky, little doppel, but we'll…meet again. Until then, the name 'Akio' shall…haunt you." As he finished, he dropped his head and Shiori finally found herself able to move, no longer frozen in terror. So she obeyed her first instinct and ran, not seeing Kio slowly get up and look around, wondering what just happened.


	6. Chapter 6

In her mad dash to get away from Kio, Shiori found herself at the edge of the forest and on the outskirts of Pewter. Not wanting to head into human civilization in the form of a machop, she transformed back to a human girl, clothes and all. Last night she had thought about more than just Kio before she drifted off to sleep. In the case of a situation in which she wanted to take a pokemon form and she didn't want to have to worry about clothing for when she morphed human again, she decided the best course of action was to see if she could assimilate inanimate objects (a.k.a. the clothing she wore) so that she could morph part of herself into that inanimate object.

In this way, she could become human and clothes at the same time, which of course equaled a fully clothed human. It was merely a hunch but it paid off, in that now she wouldn't be wandering around stark naked in public. And while she still didn't express the uniquely human idea of modesty, she didn't really want to draw attention to herself. In order to blend in as a human she would have to act like one. As she neared the pokemon center, she mentally patted herself on the back for thinking things through for once.

She found Enza exactly where she had left him, which was a bit odd. Did he have no life? Not that she cared of course. She was perfectly ready to swear off contact with humans entirely. So of course the fact that she had now moved to sit down next to him confounded her immensely. She had thrown herself into an undesirable situation with Kio earlier, for reasons she could not understand, and now here she was going against her thoughts once more. It was as if her body was actively rebelling her mind! Then she realized that part of her wanted to talk about what happened with someone. And Enza was currently her only opportunity to vent. Otherwise she'd be pouring her thoughts out onto a total stranger.

"So…Kio's gone insane." Enza glanced at her but said nothing. Despite his lack of a response, Shiori was compelled to continue. "A drowsy attacked him and I think it affected his mental state. He tried to hurt me and kept referring to himself as if he was someone else. Now he's apparently some sort of psycho psychic. I didn't realize he could be so dangerous." Enza coughed. Shiori decided it was time to leave so she got up. "Well, I'll be going now. I've got to get as far away from him as possible." "…wait…" Shiori felt Enza grab her hand. "Where *cough* is he?"

She paused. "For all I know he's still unconscious in the forest. Why?" Enza seemed to be considering something. Finally, he got up and stood next her. "I must…find him." "Are you nuts? He'll kill you!" "No *cough* *cough* things aren't…as they seem." And so Enza headed out of the pokemon center. Shiori hesitated, but curiosity eventually won over caution, and she took off after him. For the third time that day, she pondered her own sanity. Maybe, deep down, she wanted this to be a misunderstanding. The only question was, why?

*0O0*

They eventually found him in a clearing, attempting to feed the fainted drowsy a berry of some sort. He looked up and smiled at them. "Hey guys, how's it hangin'?" Shiori hid behind Enza as Enza rolled his eyes. Forgetting about the drowsy for a moment, Kio got up and approached them, still smiling, but holding confusion in his eyes. "What's up with her?" Enza suddenly attempted to punch Kio in the gut, but the other boy was able to dodge in the nick of time. "Where is it?" Enza rasped. Shiori was completely taken aback by this new series of events. 'What is going on?'

Kio quickly grabbed Shiori's arm and ran out of the clearing with her. "Mind telling me why everyone's acting weird today?" he asked as they made their way through the forest, Enza hot on their tails. Shiori snapped back to reality and looked at him. "Well, I don't know about Enza, but you tried to kill me earlier, so if you'll excuse me-" She tried to break away, but Kio was still holding onto her arm. "Well, that's a bit of a problem, isn't it? We can talk about that later, but for now, could you please get this guy off our backs?" "Why don't you do it, Mr. Psychic?" "The short answer is that I can't. The long answer ties in with our future talk." The young doppel sighed. "Fine." She turned around and punched Enza in the face. Not expecting this, he went down quickly. Kio stopped to catch his breath and then got out some rope.

After tying Enza up, he froze and then chuckled to himself. "Silly me. We left those two psychic pokemon back in the clearing. I'd feel terrible if something happened to them. We have to go back." Shiori glared at him. "You're going to catch them aren't you? You humans are all the same." But Kio shook his head. "No, I'm not. As much as I hate to admit it, I am my father's son. I don't have it in me to be a proper trainer. I don't even carry any pokeballs. You can frisk me if you think I'm lying." And there was that mischievous grin again. Shiori rolled her eyes. Well, he was certainly back to normal.

When they got back to the clearing the drowsy and hypno were beginning to awaken. When the two pokemon saw Kio, they stiffened, but Hypno sensed that something was different about the boy who had whooped them and he relaxed a little. "What do you want?" asked the drowsy. Kio grinned sheepishly. "I think we got off onto the wrong foot, and I just wanted to make sure you were alright." As the conversation continued, Kio and Shiori learned that these two pokemon had been abandoned a while back by a heartless trainer, and ever since had been attempting to grow stronger. Unfortunately, they didn't discriminate between pokemon and human, and were seen as a problem to the people in the area when they attacked.

"In any case, it's probably time we left the area." said the hypno. "We were going to wait until my brother evolved, but I have a feeling that it would be smarter to go now, before the locals come hunting us."

"Just stop attacking humans. We aren't all bad." Said Kyo. "We should go as well. I don't know how long our friend will stay incapacitated." And thus the two groups parted ways. Shiori sighed. "Well that was a happy-go-lucky ending. I feel all corny." Kio smiled knowingly. "Just be happy it went well this time. Things might just get worse before you know it. But that's the price of freedom, isn't it?"

Meanwhile, Enza had awoken and was currently attempting to free himself. Kio was no boy scout and so his knot tying skills left a bit to be desired, so it didn't take too long. Hopefully they hadn't gotten too far. Enza was desperate and he didn't want to have gotten that close just to have let his chance slip through his fingers. "I'll find that Zephyr base…and that *cough* man, if it's the last thing I *cough* *cough* do…"


	7. Chapter 7

"Alright, Kio! You'd better tell me what's going on! You aren't normal, are you?" Kio and Shiory were at the outskirts of Pewter City just beyond the forest when the doppel girl confronted him. Kio looked around to make sure no one else was present, before he responded. "I suppose you aren't going to let me put it off any longer. To put it bluntly, no, I'm not normal. But then, this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. You aren't even natural. Nevermind normal." Kio wondered how much he would have to tell her before she was satisfied. The less she knew about everything, the better it would be for him and perhaps her as well.

But Shiori was growing impatient as well as annoyed by the statement. How dare he call her a freak! "Yeah, yeah, quit stalling! We're talking about you, not me! Not only are you a psychic, but you tried to kill me for no apparent reason. I mean, what kind of nutjob are you?" "I thought you liked nutjobs." Shiori slapped him upside the head. "Be serious, for once!" Kio grinned. "My, my. Clearly you're not as afraid of me as it appeared. So, then what exactly is the problem?"

"The problem is that I don't trust you. So, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." said Shiori with a murderous glare. Kio chuckled. "Sometimes I have to wonder why people consider that a threat. But if it's so bloody important that you find out my secrets, I suppose I can let you in on a couple of them. I just can't guarantee that you'll be overly fond of me once you know."

"Kio."

"Yes?"

"I hate you. You're a human and your personality disgusts me. That is a fact and will continue to be a fact, regardless of anything you say or do. If your goal was to for us to be 'bestest buddies forever' then you should probably look for someone else, because you aren't going to get far with me. Now that that's cleared up: Get to the point!"

Kio's smile had a hint of pain in it, but it was too subtle for Shiori to notice. "Very well. My father wanted a powerful heir. I don't know the details, or even who my mother is, but I'm willing to guess that she is a psychic, based on obvious reasons. Anyways, Dad's plan worked…sort of. He ended up with twins, both with strong psychic abilities. But one twin became sickly at a very young age. No one was able to find a cure. The boy died and his brother has never been the same since."

"So how come you don't know who your mother is?"

"I haven't the foggiest. For all I know, she's dead. But it's not important. I've never known her and I probably never will. Anyways, my condition is a direct result of the story I told you. Unfortunately, my psychic abilities are currently…weakened substantially. Apparently, they came back temporarily while I was unconscious. But, things have returned to normal. That's why I had to get you to stop Enza. I wasn't able to psychically, and I prefer to refrain from physical violence."

"How do I know there won't be a repeat of today's incident? I'd really rather not die by the hands of some lunatic. And what made you think that story would cause me to hate you?"

Kio nodded. "Yes, it would be preferable if you didn't. I guess you'll just have to learn to fight back. We need the money anyways, so let's take on some trainers, maybe even gyms. You should also get some more pokemon forms, to increase your options. We'll fight some wild pokemon as well, so you can assimilate them. As for the hate thing, I haven't told you everything, and if things go well, then you won't ever have to know." Suddenly Shiori's stomach growled. Kio fought to hold back a laugh. "Perhaps we should get some breakfast first. I have enough money for a meal."

"Agreed. Where is the nearest food place?"

"Over the river and through the wood, to Pewter City we go!" Kio sang. Shiori's eye twitched. "Can you atleast pretend that you're not a freak!"

"Where's the fun in that?"

*0O0*

A man who looked like an older version of Kio was pacing around a lab. He appeared to be in a very bad mood. The scientists in the room were nervous as they watched him. Suddenly, another man came in, walked up to the man who was pacing, and whispered something in his ear. Kio's father stopped in his tracks and grabbed the other man by the throat, scaring the scientists even more. A few fled the vicinity, not wanting to stay and risk getting harmed, themselves. Kio's father ignored them as he spoke. "What do you mean 'he escaped'?"

When the unlucky messenger failed to speak, he dropped him and let him catch his breath. "Our (gasp) mercenary, Halitosis, is gone. I think he went after Kio and the doppel. He's been acting strangely ever since that day they left."

The scientists still in the room began murmuring amongst themselves. Their boss held up a hand to silence them as he spoke again. "I can't afford to lose another son, and that doppel is extremely important for our plans. Tell your men to find and tail those two, and if Halitosis shows up, bring him back here by any means necessary. As for you lot: get back to work!" The scientists and messenger saluted and immediately left the room, leaving the Zephyr boss alone to his thoughts.

"Kio, why did I let you leave with such an important project? This is getting out of hand. I need a drink." He muttered to himself. And with that he left the room as well, most likely to get something to calm his nerves. After all these years, he didn't want to have to start again from scratch.


End file.
